two

So, I order the dress from another retailer, and I of course, need to get it altered. Though I loved the shop where I bought the dress, I read many bad reviews regarding the seamstress so I decided to do some research and get recommendations for a different seamstress. One in particular was recommended over and over so it looked like we had a clear winner.

As soon as I walked in the door she made me feel like we were inconveniencing her. (I called ahead of time to ask if I needed to make an appointment and was told no.) She immediately asks me if I brought in the shoes that I was going to wear with the dress, I said yes the ones that I was wearing. She rolled her eyes and told me that I was supposed to wear heels with a dress. I bit my tongue, I didn't need to justify the fact that Converse were the more logical choice for a wedding on a waterfall.

As she pinned the dress she simultaneously scolds us for bringing the dress in so early (we brought it in 10 weeks before the wedding. Assuming there would be at least two fittings. And I live 150 miles away.) She laughed and said she hoped I didn't gain or lose any weight. (And in a comment that I didn't hear and wasn't told until after I left the shop, she said that under her breath she said "or get pregnant".)

I fumed and was guided out of the shop by my mother. She already had the dress. We already went through all of the fitting and pinning. She wanted to make her exit fast. So, I left it there. I did walk out of there with an entire tote bag full of dresses that I wanted fixed, but there was no way that I was giving her any more business.

In the end, the dress was fixed correctly. I never took anything else back there and I believe that she since went out of business. I suppose that she never learned that customer services is a big part of retaining customers. And I may have gotten some mean sense of vindication, from seeing the FOR RENT sign in the window.

And I get sad for all these brides who are being bullied by their vendors. So this series is for those who need to vent, those who stood up for themselves and told vendors that they were not ruining their event.

Installment one

By the time I went dress shopping I had already found my perfect wedding dress online, all I needed was to

find a dress shop where I could purchase it. I gathered a list of retailers that carried the designer and line,

printed out a photo of the dress, and went on my way. I started at a local shop that had been around for years

and years, a place that I thought I would feel good about supporting. I showed the woman who was working

there that day the picture and gave her all the designer info, and she looks at the paper then looks me up and

down and goes, "Just so you know, that isn't going to look good on you." I was shocked. SHOCKED. Who

says that to a customer? I muttered a disbelieving "Excuse me?" before she went on to tell me that I was too

short for it, trying to convince me that it was made for girls like the model in the photo. (Really? It is made

for that tiny portion of the population that is 6' and taller?) I protested for a bit, trying to reason that I would

be wearing a smaller size and there for it would be more proportional, but she insisted that the smallest size

they make was a 2 and that the bodice would be measure for someone like the model (someone 6') and that it

would look atrocious on me. Needless to say that I didn't buy my dress there and I got a morbid sense of

satisfaction when she bent over and I saw her Spanx sticking out.

I walked out of the store. I will never return. I also made it a point to share my story with several locals, from

family and friends, to brides, and bridesmaids, basically anyone I knew who would be looking for a specialty

dress. I am from, and this store is located in a small enough town where word of mouth can travel, but not so